I've been driving the E23 around the last several months.....

[lip277]

(FYI - German market 728i, imported to the US some time back... it is a previous BaT car that I bought from the BaT auction winner after he found a car he wanted more than this - just a few weeks after the auction).

And it's been kinda fun.
Fun to have to plan ahead on what I do as I don't have a big motor up front (2.8L with ~180hp) with a decently chunky car to motivate.....
Once the revs are up - the power is ok. But then I need to shift and... we start over. LOL

Not having traction control makes it (at times) a bit more exciting than I expect....
Earlier today I was making a right turn (in rain) to a road going up a hill. Of course, just as I pulled out a car came up behind me at a pretty good clip (I had limited sight to my left). I was surprised that I had to feather both the throttle and even the clutch (a bit) to keep the wheel spin to a minimum. I didn't think it had it in it - That motor loves to wind it up.
I have often driven my E38 through that same intersection and have seen the traction control light go on at times. This time, 'I' was the traction control - LOL

The trunk is BIG... but not as big as it would be if the spare were in a better place. LOL
Seats are very comfortable.

This was the period of time when BMW was just figuring out how to work climate control. Works ok - but my same year Mercedes (W126) was better.

One thing both the W126 and E23 do well is manage the airflow around the car. Earlier today I went from a dry area to one that had rain. I had to run the wipers to clear the front, but the aerodynamics (airflow management) and gutters kept the rain away from bothm the side and rear windows. I always appreciated that in the Mercedes and found the BMW does a similar job on this car. Was nice to see.

The suspension has soaked up all that the PNW weather and roads have thrown at it.

I have received a decent amount of thumbs up and horn toots and light flashes as I have taken the car around. Fun to see.
I probably have about a thousand miles on it these last few months.

Even though I've had the car since 2017, I did not really drive it too much. But - when I went down to get my E9 (at Don's shop in Alameda) a couple of years back - I didn't want to take my car trailer empty down to get the car, so.... instead of dead-heading with my trailer, I took this car down to have him refresh the mechanical bits. I took the E9 north and then picked up the car a few months later. Since then, it is kinda nice having a car like this (40+ years old) that I can kinda daily drive knowing it is in about as good a shape as it was when it was new-ish.
Don went through hell to find some of the parts for this car (and I paid a pretty penny for all of this) - but am happy I did.

The funny thing is that when I took the car down to Don's I was thinking I would be way over spending for this mechanical work compared to the value of this car. And that was ok. I wanted a unique car that I could use on a (mostly) daily basis and the E23 would be fun doing that.
But after I got car back, I looked at Hagerty valuations. I was surprised to see these are top near $40k now... Hagerty agreed with that and my car is now protected appropriately (as such). Nice not to be under water - LOL Not that that matters as such. Just a nice feeling.

Oh - Merry Christmas.

 

[Clubsport_CSi]

Congrats - I think the E23 is a wonderful car if one wants to enjoy a historic car as a daily driver!
I once bought a "collection" of seven (7 ) E23. Mainly as it included a 745iA Executive that the guy did not want to sell separatly... There was a second nice car in the set, a 735i with buffalo leather interior and AC.
I kept these two E23 and completely disassembled the five other cars for parts... Then my future wife appeared on the stage and I had to reduce the number of cars / time I spent working on them. I sold the two complete cars to a guy in The Netherlands.
I still have a huge amount of used spare parts from the other five E23. I could probably fill more then one oversee container with these parts So if anyone is in need to find specific parts and used ones are OK, feel free to contact me
Kind regards, Dan

 

[vince]

I've always liked your e23. I saw if for sale on CL Seattle years ago but passed because it looked like it was Sahara in the pictures. What was crazy was the car included a new brown dash as part of the sale. My buddy Dave bought it instead and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the color in person. He did a bunch of work to it including installing the new dash, adding the euro stripes, and the style 5s. Here's a picture of our cars together after winning our classes at MotorFest, mine's the Fjord 2002 that I had just finished. We both sold our cars on BaT not long after. He's working on another e23 now, a euro 745.

 

[lip277]

Right -I first noticed the car when Dave had it on BaT. I bid on it then, but wasn't able to stay on top of the auction as I was in the middle of a project delivery at work (and when those involve $$'s that start with 'B' - that kind of takes my full attention - LOL).
While it is not my favorite color - I do appreciate it (along with the green interior) as fitting - in my mind - what I feel are the norms of 1980's German cars.

As you saw - the car was in great shape both mechanically and operationally when I got it - but the OE gaskets were failing all over the place. Fluids leaked out of just about everywhere they could and I had no idea how old the brake lines or coolant system items were (not to mention fuel).
So - I really hesitated driving it too far from home as who knew when something bad would happen.
That is why I had Don go to town on it.
Pretty much all the gaskets/hoses and such were replaced, exhaust, refreshed cooling system, head gasket and so on.

Below are a few of the BaT pics from the 2017 auction. The car looks the same as it did then (maybe not as clean - oh well - ).
I have a couple of electrical gremlins that I am chasing and it needs a new stereo. But those things I can deal with over time.
The stereo that the car had in the auction died when the auction winner got the car. He had a new Jensen one installed. It is 'ok' but I want to install a period correct 'something' - doesn't have to be OE though. I do have my old 'two shaft' Sony that I had in my 2002 (from the mid 1980's) and also have a Nakamichi head unit (FYI - I have WAY too much stuff in boxes in my shop - LOL)

 

[CSteve]

Lovely, just lovely. May we see the original BaT auction. I have a growing appreciation for cars of that era, especially the E23

 

[lip277]

This is the auction from 2017.

Euro 1985 BMW 728i 5-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a Euro 1985 BMW 728i 5-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #5,837.

bringatrailer.com

 

[shanon]

 

[CSBM5]

Great story to hear! I've always thought the Bavaria and E23 would one day be recognized and appreciated by many (although it took a long, long time!). My father bought a Bavaria (4MT) new in 1972, and then bought a 733i (4MT) new in 1980. I bought the Bavaria from him then for almost nothing - the trade-in value was horrific, lol. He let me borrow the 733i around Christmas of 1980, and I still have great memories of I-85 in north Georgia, around daybreak on Xmas day with near zero traffic...with my wife enjoying it too, cruising well north of 100mph for a long time (with an Escort on the lookout).

For that time period, it was an absolutely amazing automobile. There was no sedan that even came close. I still remember the Car & Driver review in April 1980 (edit: it was June 1980 issue) as I thought a lot about that article during that trip later in 1980. What a step up from the Bavaria in so many ways the E23 was...similar to how the E32 was another leap forward in so many additional ways. Shortly thereafter Dad bought some Quickor Engineering front and rear sway bars (28/22mm) for it and was super happy with the now dramatically reduced body roll. He kept it until late 1987 when his E32 735i (5MT) arrived. I've sadly regretted not buying the E23 from him that summer, but at the time I had three BMWs already and didn't want to sell any of them.

Enjoy the E23! It's the perfect BMW of that era to me. I'd love to have a pristine example with a built S38 sucking through triple 45mm sidedraft Webers.

 

[Clubsport_CSi]

I'd love to have a pristine example with a built S38 sucking through triple 45mm sidedraft Webers.

Why not getting one of these then :
745i SA

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